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Red Lake woman indicted for murder, assault

An 18-year-old Red Lake woman was indicted Wednesday in federal court on one count of murder and two assault counts in connection with an April 12 stabbing.

Patricia Ann Brown, an enrolled member of the red Lake Band of Chippewa, was charged with one count of murder, one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Brown's indictment charges that on April 12 she murdered a 14-year-old boy, identified only by initials in the criminal complaint, and cut two other boys with a knife.

According to the criminal complaint, the 14-year-old boy, also an enrolled Red Lake member, died at 11:05 p.m. April 12 at the Red Lake Indian Health Service Hospital from a single stab wound to the chest.

On April 13, the Red Lake Police Department reported to FBI agents that Brown had been arrested on an unrelated matter, and her car was in the police storage garage. An FBI special agent obtained a search warrant and confiscated a butterfly knife, brass knuckles and a receipt with Brown's name on it from the car.

The complaint states that several witnesses either saw Brown attack the 14-year-old, heard him say, "She stabbed me!" and heard Brown say, "I stabbed him."

If convicted, Brown faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison on all three counts.

All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Red Lake Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven L. Schleicher and Tricia A. Tingle.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.